Management of Virtual Teams Task

Running head: MANAGEMENT OF VIRTUAL TEAMS
MANAGEMENT OF VIRTUAL TEAMS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

MANAGEMENT OF VIRTUAL TEAMS1
Introduction
A virtual team mainly refers to group of the individuals who are able to work together
from the various geographic locations with the help of appropriate technologies. The
communication technologies will be able to play a major role in proper enhancement of the
levels of collaboration between the employees of the firm and management of organizations as
well (Alaiad, Alnsour and Alsharo 2019). The different communication technologies that can be
implemented virtual teams mainly include FAX, video conferencing, email and many other voice
conferencing services as well. The term also refers to the groups or the teams that can work in a
collaborative manner at different levels of the organizations. The workers who are a part of the
virtual teams are mainly dispersed in different locations and can complete their jobs with the
help of proper collaboration (Aritz, Walker and Cardon 2018).
The essay will be based on the detailed analysis of the virtual teams that include different
employees who are present at various locations. The activities of virtual teams will be analyzed
with the help of different examples of organizations in various industries. The support that is
provided by the use of different technologies for maintaining the organizational operations and
activities of the teams will also be discussed in the report in detail.
Discussion of the effectiveness of virtual teams
As discussed by Breuer, Hüffmeier and Hertel (2016), the members of different virtual
teams can communicate with each other with the implementation of different electronic methods
as they are not always able to meet face-to-face. The virtual teams can maintain their activities in
an effective manner with the support that is provided by the proper use of different types of
technologies (Hbr.org, 2020). The organizations are able to procure the top level talent from

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different parts of the world who are located in different geographical locations with the help of
proper technological support. The virtual teams mainly require different ways of working across
the boundaries or the locations in which they are working with the proper implementation of
processes, systems and technologies as well (Glikson and Erez 2019).
According to Graham, Daniel and Doore (2016), the leaders of different virtual teams are
able to play a major role in enhancing the focus of employees and enhancing the success gained
by teamwork as well. The three major aspects that are a part of the process of development of
virtual teams include links, purpose and people. The purpose of virtual teams is mainly based on
the ways by which they are able to collaborate with each other. The lack of hierarchy in the
virtual teams are considered to be a major aspect related to the support they are able to provide to
organizational operations (Hbr.org, 2020). The effectiveness of virtual teams is also increased
with the support that is provided by the appropriate modern technologies. Different factors can
however have a major impact on the ways by which virtual teams are able to maintain the
operations. The attention of team members is considered to be a major factor that has a huge
impact on the activities that are performed by the virtual teams (Hill and Bartol 2018).
The cultural differences between different countries can also prove to be a major barrier
for the effectiveness of the virtual teams. The understanding of cultural aspects is considered to
be highly important for the members of the team so that they can collaborate with each other
effectively. The environments of virtual communication are experienced in a different manner by
the individuals who belong to different countries and different cultures as well. The dimension
based on individualism and collectivism has been taken into consideration for the purpose of
understanding the impact of cultural aspects on the virtual teams (Hoch and Dulebohn 2017).
The individuals who belong to individualist societies are able to depict different characteristics in

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comparison to the individuals who are a part of the collectivist societies. Technical expertise
gained by the members of the teams can also influence the performance levels of the teams and
the levels of satisfaction that are related to becoming a part of the team (Jimenez et al. 2017).
As discussed by Krumm et al. (2016), the high trust levels within the team members will
also be able to influence the effectiveness of different teams that are a part of the organizations.
Mentoring is also considered to be an important factor that can have an impact on team
effectiveness levels. The diverse levels of technological skills have also been able to create huge
levels of conflicts between the teams. The teams also need to be provided with consistent levels
of training that are related to the proper improvement of team performance (Liao 2017). The
diversity levels in the technical skills gained by employees are able to create conflicts and this
can reduce the effectiveness of performance. The virtual teams are however considered to be less
effective in comparison to the teams that are a part of the organizations. The satisfaction of
customers, performance levels are influenced in a huge manner by the effectiveness of the virtual
teams (Marlow, Lacerenza and Salas 2017).
As discussed by Meier, Smith and Porter (2017), virtual teams and their operations can
have an impact on the objectives that have been set by the organization. The teams can thereby
be developed by the organization on a short term and long term basis in order to achieve the
goals that have been set by the firm. The relationships that are developed between the team
members and with the management of the organization in order to enhance the operations of the
firm in an effective manner (Wieland and Wolf 2016). The teams that are a part of the
organization can play a major role in proper enhancement of the operations of the firm. The
revenues of the organization can also be enhanced effectively with the support that is provided